Beckham MLS franchise Miami United FC Nearly Finalised

Only in America could a footballer own a club, and only David Beckham could be a big enough name to secure an MLS franchise. The ex-England international is going to secure the MLS’s Miami franchise for the cut-price fee of £15million.

The process isn’t as simple as shopping in a boutique, but it’s not far off as there’s no need for Beckham to grow a club from the grassroots of football in the states. His MLS Miami franchise needs investors and sponsors which he is putting together now in time for the deadline in the new year. The new franchise will need a permanent home so part of the proposal involves naming a site, and the team will also need a temporary home which Beckham will have to outline in his business plan.

There hasn’t been any official word from Beckham or his advisors but Miami city officials are meeting on Tuesday to ratify possible sites for the proposed stadium. Once that’s been completed, contractual negotiations with builders will begin. The new team’s home will be a 25,000 seat stadium on public land on Miami’s Dodge Island. According to unofficial reports, the full investment from Beckham’s party will be at least £100million.

We can’t think of any footballer other than David Beckham who could pull of something like this, and although football isn’t as massive in America as Baseball and NFL, this is still a very ambitious venture and one that could easily go south if there’s no market for the sport in Miami. The state of Florida already has three two National Basketball Association teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Hockey League teams and three National Football League teams. What we call football and Americans call soccer is currently represented by Tampa Marauders FC, a National Premier Soccer League side (America’s 4th tier), the North American Soccer League sides Tampa Bay Rowdies and Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2nd tier), and Orlando City Soccer Club, who play in USL Pro, America’s 3rd tier competition. Putting a top tier franchise above those will either draw existing soccer fans from the lower tier franchises or alienate them.